With tonight's dinner of lasagne, I opened:
2000 Ridge Lytton Springs (80% Zin; 20% Petite Sirah; 14.8% ABV) color: dark garnet with no bricking nose: cedar, mint, dark fruits palate: soft, oak-influenced, mint, plummy
In search of a decent pasta wine, I pulled this bottle from the cellar. Paul Draper indicated that the wine would be at its best in "5 to 7 year" as of 10/01. This was an odd showing. The intense minty quality was offputting, and Jean felt that the wine was a bit hot, too. No hurry, though, as the wine seemed quite young, so we'll revisit later and see whether the wine has calmed down.
Mark Lipton